I am currently a 51 mage looking to utilize the current exp bonus to raise a box. What would be a good box for a Mage? I was thinking Either Druid (outside only pulls) regen buffs snare teleport heals dots nukes. Or shaman slow heals some buffs ( do stat buffs affect pets?) extra pet dots but worry about no pulls or snare.... And lastly Cleric if i go DE could get snare has best heals and buffs paci for pulling but no slows and low end DPS assist. Anyone have good experience with any of these box types and maybe a suggestion or two about which would be most beneficial late game Kunark, velious taking on camps of named mobs and items etc.?
I'd go Shaman Shaman worshipping Inny can get snare https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=1254 Get FD ring from sky. Can do some cool pull stuff using CoTH if you have some room to move.
If you look around in-game, I think you'll find the most common thing players pair with a magician is... another magician.
Troll Shaman can do the same snare neck as the Cleric, might have to do this quest a couple of times to get the faction first. https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=8094
This is likely a tongue in cheek jab at the bot farmers, but mage mage is also a very strong and capable duo for "real" players.
It depends on what you want to be able to accomplish with your box, as well as how active you want to be on your box. Having a second mage is incredibly easy to box, you don't have to learn about another class, etc. The dps is solid, and you would be able to duo a lot of the krono camps. If you are looking to solo with your box while you are waiting to find a group, shaman or druid is a good option. Shamans have solid dots, slows, and can snare with certain diety/race combos. Druids have dots, snares, roots, mana regen, teleports, which is awesome to get around before PoP, and you can have the druid pull with snare/dot so that they keep hate so your pet can bash on it. Cleric may be nice since it may be easier to find groups with, since people still prefer clerics, but they lack a lot of the utility in comparison to the shaman or druid, but they are much easier to box since they are just a root/heal/buff bot. Necros are actually really fun to box with if you like having a challenge with a box. In open world zones you can fear kite stuff that is snared, and you have enough utility at higher levels/expansions to keep your health up. If you pull with the necro and dot it up before you send the mage pet in, you shouldn't have many issues. Again, it's really hard to say, since you didn't state the purpose of the box, and how much upkeep you'd like WITH the box. Some people like laid back boxing where they are pressing 1-2 buttons every once in awhile, whereas others like to actively be playing the box, which is possible since your main is a mage. Sadly mages just lack a whole lot of utility and therefore don't contribute well to pretty much any duoing scenario, so I would stick to something that fits your play style that could help you get in groups if you don't like forming them yourself.
A few TLPs ago, I don't recall which but I grouped with a person that would box 2 mages, he put banded armor on both pets and would alternate which one would be tanking while the other regenerated health. Worked quite well, he could be the tank and a big chunk of DPS for a group.
It depends on play style. If you plan to stay at the same locations often, then another mage or a necro would be the way to go. If you plan to move around a lot to different zones, a druid is a nice option because of the teleports. I think your best bang for the buck is just another mage. There is a lot of firepower there to burn down nameds.
I've never regretted pairing a Ranger with a Magician when the opportunity arose. It is really rough going until the Ranger gets SoW, then it is gravy. Ranger snares & roots really work well when the Magician debuffs with Malosi. Magician just summons a couple of hundred arrows for the Ranger and set them on autofire or make a macro that runs a standard series<best option> like [Snare, Flamelick, Stinging Swarm, autofire]. This is particularly strong right now since the Ranger can heal either the pet or Magician as well as them self. Ranger buffs ~Skin Like Wood & SoW stick on the pet too. Magicians right now as you already know have pet heals in the current state of the TLP servers so the pet can tank. Something that I never get tired of saying, Rangers don't tank well. I mean I will let them tank a bit to get their dodge and riposte up, but that is about it. Most I will ever do is have the Ranger pull and take a few hits with the pet on taunt to pull aggro from the Ranger ASAP. Ranger is a good DPS character what with Dual Wield and all. With the pet on taunt, the pet draws so much aggro the Ranger can swing away and manna dump every spell in their book w/o getting in trouble.
One thing to remember is that the mage pet until you get your epic is an absolute paper bag. Shaman really offsets a lot of the problems that mages have in classic - Kunark. Can also make your own clarity potions for when you need them. Druid is doable as well but you won't be as viable in dungeons in comparison with the Shaman. Cleric can also be done but your kill speed will be so slow.
